Iconic American photographer William Eggleston is the newly announced Outstanding Contribution to Photography award recipient from the Sony World Photography Awards. In tribute to this honor, a special selection of rarely seen images by Eggleston will be published in the 2013 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards book, and an additional series of Eggleston prints will be shown as part of the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition at Somerset House, London from April 26 – May 12. Considered the pioneer of color photography and the personal documentary style, William Eggleston first picked up a camera in 1957 and has been producing cutting-edge work for over fifty years since. His landmark 1976 show at the Museum of Modern Art, New York thrusted color photography from the field of advertising into an art form of its own right. In reference to his career-crowning achievement, Eggleston said, “The world is in color. To paraphrase my friend John Szarkowski, my attempt has been to see simultaneously, both the blue and the sky as one thing.” Eggleston will receive the award on Thursday 25 April at the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards Gala Ceremony. On the same night, the winners of the awards’ professional categories and the overall L’Iris d’Or / Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of the Year will be announced.

The exhibition images were taken by Eggleston between 1965 and 1980. The majority of the prints are from his iconic Los Alamos and Dust Bells series and the 10.D.70.V1 portfolio. The exhibition opens the same week as a display of Eggleston’s dye transfers at the Tate Modern. To book tickets please go to:worldphoto.org/2013exhibition. The book costs £29.95 and can be purchased from www.worldphoto.org or from the exhibition.